Scam E-mail Using McDonald’s Name to Target Kiwis

Phishing e-mail purporting to be from McDonald was circulating on April 15, 2009 in New Zealand's cyber space, according to the computer security specialists.

Accordingly, McDonald has been getting complaints from people concerned about the e-mail and website that promise users $50 reward for participating in an online survey and sharing their private information, particularly credit card numbers.

A spokeswoman representing the fast-food outlet have said that the same scam made the rounds nearly a month back, but that wasn't so far reaching and sophisticated. In that, the scammers didn't even know the correct spelling of New Zealand.

The spokeswoman further said that the number of people getting the most recent form of the phishing e-mail was impossible to say. According to her, while the e-mail directed users to visit a website that did not connect to McDonald, the restaurant's call center for customer service kept on receiving phone calls all through the day.

Besides, the spokeswoman said a few customers have become victims of the phishing scam as they unwittingly handed out their payment card particulars. Thus, authorities have asked them to get in touch with the police and their bank.

Meanwhile, McDonald stated it doesn't ask for customers' credit card or bank details and it is sorry for any trouble that the fraud has caused. It further said the scam e-mail's sender is still not known, however, it has reported the fraud to the concerned authorities.

In the meantime, NZ's McDonald advises everyone getting the e-mail to ignore and delete it. Besides, for any survey, McDonald only uses the service of reputable research firms, the company said.

Commenting on the point, security specialists said scam artists have been exploiting the brand name of widely favored companies and legitimate online sites to rob people off personal information through phishing e-mails globally, while the adverse economic conditions provided fresh scope for these scams.

Similarly, last month (March 2009), the US authorities alerted end-users of e-mails that purported to come from McDonald and which invited recipients to participate in a survey in exchange for $150.